Rocky Road ~ House of Kate, Cabot, and Nip

[Namohysip]

Near the beginning of the street of houses meant for Team Spectrum was a large home suited for Pokemon meant for open air or otherwise bulky frames. And while not appropriate for their legal owners, it was at least something accommodating for the ultra Shades that accompanied them, such as Kate's. Like all of the other homes, it had three basic rooms, being the foyer and living room equipped with a kitchen and sitting area, the bedroom that could be divided up in the back, the bathroom further beyond, and a storage room between the bedroom and living room.

<><><>​

 

[Virgil134]

A few days after the team had rescued Sword from the Worldcore, Cabot approached one of the houses on Rocky Road alongside Pleo, Kate, and Melanie. With Celeste having moved out of his and Nip's room a while back, and Brisa having moved in with Owen, Kate was one of the most logical candidates to join him and Nip in their new home, especially with how fond Pleo was of her. The Rampardos looked on ahead as he sized up the place, before turning over to his new housemates.

"Well, looks like this is it," Cabot said. "It seems pretty big, so at least there will be plenty of space for you, Melanie."

Pleo looked at Melanie excitedly. "I can't believe we get to live at the same house!" the Lugia exclaimed as he beat out his wings. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Further behind, Melanie walked up the path towards the group's new home, a quick glance revealing her back to be laden down with belongings bundled up along with a Weavile perched on them. The Kyurem shade seemed to pay the burden little mind, either finding it light enough to not be bothersome, or else simply too enamored with her new environs as she strolled up to Pleo with a beaming smile.

"I know! I'm finally going to be able to live someplace where I won't need to squeeze through the doors all the time!"

The Weavile hopped off and dusted herself off as Melanie gawked about her surroundings, taking in the visibly roomy house's exterior with palpable excitement as Kate slipped by her head and nodded back.

"Hey, thanks for being a good sport about carrying all of this," the Weavile said.

"I mean, that round of drinks you offered did seem like a fair trade," the Kyurem shade replied. "But are you sure Spinda's Juice Bar even carries servings sized for me?"

A small smirk spread over the Weavile's face in response, her mind already imagining Melanie taking up space at the juice bar and putting Team Spectrum's tab to good work.

"Only one way to find out," she insisted. "Though if they don't, we'll just keep ordering until you get your fill."

Melanie's eyes lit up, as Kate turned about her surroundings and noticed that she couldn't see any sign of furnishings through the windows. The house had already been empty when Maple had taken them around earlier, but...

"Though did anything change from this place since Maple showed us earlier?" Kate asked. "Any housewarming gifts or the like?"

 

[Virgil134]

"Only one way to find out," Cabot replied. "Nip said he'd be here soon, so we might as well go inside and see."

The Rampardos approached the door and entered the house, Kate, Pleo, and Melanie following suit. Once inside the four noticed that the house was rather barren, with the living room being completely empty, much to Pleo's visible disappointment.

"Aw, there's no gifts..." the Lugia murmured.

"I guess we'll have some to go buy some furniture later," Cabot sighed.

The Rampardos stepped further into the house as his toeclaws tapped against the marble floor. He looked down and brushed his left foot against the floor, frowning slightly as he got a good feeling of the cold, smooth surface.

"Maybe we should also get carpet or something..."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Kate and Melanie followed along into the house, and similarly to Cabot and Pleo discovered that the house was barren barring the clean, marble flooring and tidy walls. The Weavile of the pair pinned her ears back and folded her arms with a quiet harrumph.

"You'd think they'd at least have left a fruit basket or a bottle of wine for us."

Melanie for her part had her attention taken up more by Cabot mention of a 'carpet', her mind turning back to the things that Kate called a 'carpet'. So then did he mean...

"Oh? Like a rug? Since I guess one of those would be nice."

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh, it's kinda like a rug, but it covers the whole floor!" Cabot exclaimed. "Some places have them over here and they feel super nice to walk on."

Meanwhile, Pleo curiously peered into one of the other rooms, eager to explore the house. He began to walk out of the living room, only to stop and turn around upon hearing the door opening, where he saw a second Weavile alongside a Ninetales shade had entered.

"Oh, hey there Nip! Hey Tempest!" the Lugia chirped. "Welcome to our new home!"

 

[windskull]

This was the place. His new den- his new house while he remained here. It was large, but significantly smaller than the guild that had been his home for a while now. It was better, for certain. But it still didn't feel like home.

Nip uncomfortably shifted his weight from foot to foot and shouldered his bag. "Are you sure it's not to late to make a den in the forest?"

Tempest nosed Nip's shoulder, then brushed his cheek up against his shoulder. "I understand your hesitations... But we need to be in town and ready to go in case of an emergency. Besides, this place is much quieter than the guild. And smaller, too. I'm sure we'll grow to appreciate it."

Nip hesitated, then nodded and stepped inside... And immediately sprang back, caught off-guard by Pleo. A second passed before he recognized the shade, then he relaxed and smiled slightly, nodding his own greeting. Tempest followed just behind, carrying the remainder of Nip's belongings. It wasn't much. Food, supplies, and a couple of trinkets had been split between Nip's bag and Tempest's.

"Rather empty, isn't it?" He paused, glancing down at the floor. His claws clicked against the polished tiles as he stepped. The sound was satisfying, but the feeling wasn't. Grass would be so much nicer. But he decided not to complain.

Tempest set down his load, silent as Nip looked around. He turned his head to look at the room, then his gaze settled on Melanie. The Kyurem. The Empty One, who freezes the hearts of their devout so that they might survive the bitter cold of the mountains...

He was staring. He was being rude. Tempest blinked a couple times, then approached Kate and Melanie. If he was going to stare he might as be a bit more polite about it. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I am Tempest."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Kate and Melanie turned their attention over to the Ninetales shade approaching them. Kate couldn't help but sense as if something about Tempest's demeanor was guarded or distrustful, but decided to shrug the matter off. They were roommates after all from different worlds, so there were only so many ways this could come back to bite them.

Melanie for her part didn't seem to pick up on Tempest's reservations, and cracked a cheerful smile back to Tempest with a small flex of her wings.

"Pleased to meet you!" she said. "Are you also a guardian figure of Nip's too?"

Kate bit her tongue and gave a double-take back at her shade companion. She knew that shades took form based off of the memories of the Pokémon that initially formed him, but did she really expect the gods to that forward? Or was that a trait that Melanie had pulled from her?

The Weavile flattened her ears and pawed at the back of her head, shooting a sheepish smile back at Tempest.

"Aheheh. Sorry, just being a little presumptuous there," Kate explained. "Though you are Nip's shade, aren't ya? What's the story between you two?"

 

[windskull]

Tempest was caugt slightly off guard by the blunt question, He looked away for a second, considering the best way to reply. "In a sense, I suppose I am. I am more of a mentor figure than a guardian. I helped Nip learn valuable hunting and fighting skills so he'd get a better placement in our tribe."

His words caught Nip's attention. He turned his head towards Tempest for a moment, then looked away and muttered, "Not that it did much good in the end..." Realizing everyone probably heard him, he quickly shook his head and changed the subject. "But that's beside the point. Tempest has been a valuable confidant and loyal friend for my whole life. I'm not surprised my shade decided to adopt his form."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Kate caught herself at Tempest's answer and flicked her ears uneasily. In Varhyde, and from what she knew, elsewhere in the world of Wander at large, there were two ways to interpret the Ninetales' remark about helping Nip learn to hunt.

The fox could've meant 'hunting' in the sense of 'hunting 'mons for food', meaning the two likely lived as wilders... or he could've meant 'hunting' in the sense of 'hunting 'mons for bounties', more specifically by capturing 'mons like her. Neither of two were particularly comforting possibilities to entertain, but especially not the second one.

And yet, beyond some momentary discomfort, the Weavile just wasn't all that fazed by things. After all, one of her closest friends on Team Spectrum was only a few degrees removed from being a 'hunter' of the second sort in her own world, and if she'd learned anything since coming to Cibus, it was that the worlds that Diyem pulled everyone from could get weird at times. It probably didn't make any real sense in casting judgement or getting hung up over things that weren't relevant to the job Diyem had put them up to.

"Sounds like you came from a bit of a rough neighborhood," Kate said. "But meh, a 'mon's gotta do what she needs to to get by."

"Shame things didn't work out for you, though," Melanie said to Nip. "Since it sounds like Tempest really looked out for you in your world."

Melanie trailed off and thought to herself a moment, as she recalled Nip's initial lack of enthusiasm for their new abode.

"Though what brought up the den suggestion earlier?" she asked. "Is there something about this house that you don't find comfortable? It's so big and spacious!"

Kate flattened her ears out at Melanie's reply and side-eyed the barren rooms around her, before closing her eyes with a small shake of her head.

"Well, it is a bit empty right now..." she sighed. "Though yeah, if you've got any ideas for ways to make things a bit more homely, we're all ears."

 

[windskull]

The den suggestion? Oh right. Nip offered a sheepish grin and a dismissive wave of his paw.

"Oh, I'm just not used to busy, spacious living spaces like the guild dorms. This is still a bit... big. But it's quieter." He paused, his smile faltering slightly. "Anyway, I don't know that my... preferences for living spaces are the best for a shared home like this one."

 

[Virgil134]

"Maybe you'll get some ideas when we go out shopping later?" Cabot offered. "We're gonna have to buy some stuff so the house isn't so empty, like proper places to sit, a table to eat at... maybe also one of those giant screens we can use to watch stuff like Colosseum matches."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Kate and Melanie blinked at Cabot's mention of the giant screens. Kate really had been getting used to Cibus' weirdness since she'd stopped giving them a second thought. The only comparable devices in her world were said to be some sort of magical mirrors and slates that used to be commonplace in the time before the Great Flash, not that she'd heard of any of the ones that occasionally turned up from archeological digs or from the distortions of Mystery Dungeons still working, so it was hard to say how alike they were.

"What on earth do those things even run on anyways?" Melanie asked. "Though I didn't know that you were into spectating battles, Cabot."

"Grew up around an arena or the like?" Kate chimed in. "Not that it's a bad idea, but the thought wouldn't have occurred to me before you brought it up."

 

[windskull]

Nip tilted his head up, to look at Melanie. "Your guess is as good as mine. I've never heard of anything like it. Not on my world, at least."

He went quiet as his mind drifted from the screens to the fights themselves. It wasn't unheard of for pokemon in his tribe to get together to spectate fights amongst each other. One needed to know how to fight, both to defend oneself as well as to hunt, though sharp strategic skills were just as valuable as sharp claws. Both were necessary in a planned out fight.

Vocalizing some of his thoughts, he said, "I can understand the appeal. Sharp battle skills a a key component to survival, and observing fights can help with planning out new strategies. But besides that... they are fun to watch."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot tilted his head. "Eh? Haven't you guys seen those screens around the guild? They don't exist in my word, but it can be pretty fun to just sit back and relax while watching some of the stuff they broadcast."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Kate paused and thought over Cabot's suggestion. From the screens she'd seen in Cibus, they did seem to do an good job at making one feel like they were right in the arena with the battles they showed. And beyond entertainment, there was obvious benefit in being able to place bets on them and see results right away...

"Hrm, maybe..."

As Kate thought the matter over, looking about to play around with possible places for a new screen, Melanie wandered off about the house to count up the rooms, only to suddenly pause after noticing something amiss.

"Eh? There's only three other rooms in this entire house!" she exclaimed. "Are we all supposed to just share them, or...?"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot and Pleo looked over towards Melanie's direction in surprise, before making their way over to her when they entered a large, empty room. Given the position of the room and the lack of a second floor... did that mean this was supposed to be their bedroom?

"Aw, I thought we'd get our own rooms," Pleo muttered.

"Maybe we can have some walls put up to divide it?" Cabot proposed. "They did say we could call other 'mons to get construction done around the house, and this room is certainly big enough to divide it into three or four rooms..."

 

[windskull]

Oh, that room was far too big and empty for Nip's comfort. But if they did divide it up and furnished their spaces with soft beds and trinkets? Then it might not be so bad.

"Not a bad idea. Though in the meantime in sure we can find some way to offer everyone a bit of privacy. We can probably buy something to divide up the room when we go shopping."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie paused and mused to herself following Nip's suggestion. Yes the rooms were barren now, but if they were divided up, it'd certainly go a long way to make things feel more comfortable.

"I guess it would be nice to have a place in the house that I could make a more suitable temperature," the Kyurem shade said. "Though I could always start now if everyone's alright with it!"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot blinked, before shooting Melanie a wary look. She had taken on the form of an Ice-Type, so...

"What do you mean with 'suitable'?"